The Piece That Breaks (Offstage, #2)

by N.J. Gray

She’d kept me from wandering too far into the darkness that usually accompanied loneliness too many times to count, and all I asked of her was to stay. She never did—but she always came back … eventually. That had to count for something, didn’t it?

“Everyone likes Vi,” I argued. “But Vi doesn’t like everyone, and she liked him. You said so yourself. She’s like a dog.” My brows shot up. “Excuse me?” “What? Dogs have a good sense of character. So does Vi.”

“If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?” I could honestly answer that I was the one to jump first.

But this—what she had with Liam—I wanted it more than any of the attention or extra love she’d gotten from our parents.

“I want to know your favorite color and the way you take your coffee. I want to know what your laugh sounds like when you think something is really funny. I want to know what kind of music makes you want to dance and the kind of dessert you save room for at a restaurant.”

“And the breathless ways you can say my name when I tease you with my tongue.” “Danny …” I said his name again, but it came out ragged. He pulled back enough for me to meet his gaze again. “Yeah, I’d imagine it sounds something like that.”

“Don’t songs tell stories? If this image had lyrics, how would you write them?”

There was something about being around Logan that lit me on fire. She was like the sun, covering me in an addictive warmth, even from a distance, and her smile cast light on my shadows. I just feared that maybe I was her moon and we weren’t destined to meet at all.

You know how they call people triple threats when they can act, sing, and dance? Well, I was quickly discovering that Danny was all the threats. My God, the man was dripping with sex.

It wasn’t about how well he could play his guitar. It was the way he came alive when he did.

Violet had only ever reached for two men in my life—my dad and Andre. Now, I had to add Danny to that short list, and my chest tightened as I did so.

“Do you need a reason to buy a beautiful woman flowers?”

“Maybe I’ve already won you over, but you’re too scared to realize it.”

“You have no idea all the vulgar things I can make that pretty mouth of yours sing if you let me.”

“That’s a good way to get the cops’ attention,” Tic shouted. My mouth curled up into a grin as I looked down at him. “They’re not the ones I’m looking to get attention from.”

“Logan, you’re the fucking cling wrap of liars. The cheap, clear kind that’s a bitch to deal with.” Andre shook his head. “I can see right through your shit. Now, tell me the truth.”

“How do you know he doesn’t have a sword and shield in his armory, ready to protect all of this?”

her daughter was quickly becoming my weakness.

“You know, I never really grew up wanting a sister, but I would’ve loved to have one like you.”

I thought I’d learned to ignore the loneliness I felt, never having someone to call my own, but that feeling eased every moment she spent in my arms.

“I like it here.” She closed her eyes and hummed. “The festival?” I asked, folding my arms behind her shoulders. She shook her head, squeezing me harder. “Here.”

“He. Took. Advantage. Of. You,” Danny gritted out slowly. “The fact that you can’t confidently recall with one hundred percent certainty that you didn’t tell him to eff off doesn’t exempt him from that. And if you ever figure out who it was, I’ll rip his fucking esophagus from his throat. That I promise you.”

“I will burn that red flag to the ground if I have to. You just tell me how.”

“Because I can’t wait to see one of my band tees looking the same way on you one day. All worn out and well loved.”

“I think you’re … good for me.” A smile touched his lips. “I think we could be good for each other.”

“Then, you’re aware of the anytime, anywhere rule,” I said, shifting again as we whipped around a corner. “That rule pertains to you and Violet now too.”

He pulled a folded picture out of his back pocket and showed it to me. It was the one he had taken of me in bed. “When did you develop this?” I asked, looking down at the black-and-white picture of me. “This morning.” He shrugged. “I snuck down into the darkroom while you were still sleeping.”

Logan was a different kind of drug. One that made my soul catch fire and the pain fade. She wasn’t numbing the loneliness. She was healing it.

“I said, I don’t need you!” I tried to scream again, but it came out in a withered cry. “We know you don’t,” Tic said. “But you’ve got us anyway.” Liam’s hold on me didn’t let up as my fight waned.

Loving someone the way Danny loved me was loving an imperfect person perfectly. They saw the sides of you that were dark and ugly, the parts of you that you didn’t think were worth loving and they did it anyway. And you hadn’t had to do anything to earn it. They simply took your broken parts and put them back together again. It was real and pure. A rarity to find in any lifetime. It was unconditional.

It was funny how I’d tried so hard to keep Avery away from me and my career, and now, I couldn’t imagine her not being a part of it.

Her white satin dress was simple and elegant and contrasted with her bouquet of black roses.

he had asked for “Vienna” instead. Since it had been one of my dad’s favorite songs, I figured there was no better time to finally break out his old guitar.

“You’re serious? I’m going to be a dad?” She dragged her liquid-gold gaze across the room to where Violet was dancing and smiled. “What made you think you weren’t one already?”